Help Center

Overview

This tutorial walks you through creating your first roadmap in Userorbit, from initial setup to publishing it for your users. By the end, you will have a working roadmap with stages, at least one topic, and a shareable public link.

Step 1: Create Your First Roadmap

1. Navigate to the Roadmap section in the left sidebar.
2. Click Create Roadmap.
3. Enter a name for your roadmap. Something like "Product Roadmap" or "2024 Plans" works well to start.
4. Optionally add a description that explains what this roadmap covers. This description is visible on the public roadmap page.
5. Click Save.

Your roadmap is now created and visible to your team in the dashboard.

Step 2: Configure Stages

Stages are the columns that organize your roadmap. They represent the progression of work from idea to delivery.

1. Open your newly created roadmap.
2. You will see default stages already set up. Common defaults include Exploring, Planned, In Progress, and Shipped.
3. To customize, click on a stage name to rename it, or use the stage settings to add, remove, or reorder stages.
4. Keep it simple. Three to five stages is usually enough. Too many stages create clutter and make the roadmap harder to read.

Tips for choosing stages:

• Exploring — Ideas you are considering but have not committed to yet.
• Planned — Committed work that has not started.
• In Progress — Actively being built.
• Shipped — Completed and released to users.

Step 3: Create Your First Topic

Topics are the items on your roadmap. Each one represents a feature, improvement, or initiative.

1. Click Add Topic in the stage where you want it to appear (e.g., Planned).
2. Enter a title. Make it clear and user-friendly since this is what your audience will read. For example: "Dark mode for the dashboard" rather than "FEAT-1234: implement dark theme".
3. Add a description explaining what this topic covers and why it matters. Keep it concise — two to three sentences is ideal.
4. Optionally set an ETA if you want to communicate a rough timeline.
5. Save the topic.

Repeat this step to add a few more topics across your stages. Even three to five topics is enough to make the roadmap useful.

Step 4: Link Feedback to Your Topic

If you already have feedback items related to this topic, link them now:

1. Open the topic you just created.
2. In the Linked Feedback section, search for related feedback items.
3. Select the items to link them.

Linking feedback shows your team how much user demand exists for each topic and ensures users get notified when the topic progresses.

Step 5: Publish Your Roadmap

To make your roadmap visible to users:

1. Open your roadmap settings.
2. Toggle Public to on.
3. Copy the public URL that is generated.
4. Share this URL on your website, in your app, or in communications with users.

Your public roadmap displays all stages and topics. Users can browse what you are working on and what is coming next. If you have enabled voting on roadmap topics, users can vote to signal their interest.

What to Do Next

• Review your roadmap weekly and move topics between stages as work progresses.
• Link new feedback items to existing topics as they come in.
• When a topic is shipped, consider creating an announcement to notify your users.
• Share the roadmap link in your app's help menu, footer, or onboarding flow so users know where to find it.